


Inked Up

by ilikeshipment



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Domestic, Fallen Castiel, M/M, Original Character(s), Season/Series 08 Spoilers, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-12 09:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/809917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilikeshipment/pseuds/ilikeshipment
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Castiel falls, he decides to stay with Sam and Dean permanently, which means he needs the anti-possession tattoo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inked Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of many posts on tumblr and unfortunately I don't have links for them but you can probably guess which posts I'm talking about.

 

            The angels fell all throughout the night and most of the morning and it has only been two days since they’ve stopped. When Cas didn’t show up, Dean became more worried than before. Not knowing what else to do, he rushed Sam to the hospital. Of course, it was already packed due to car crashes and other accidents involving fallen bodies. Eventually, Sam got a room, but he was in critical condition. Dean stayed with him. For two days, he didn’t eat and he hardly slept.

            Until Cas showed up.

Sam laid in bed with multiple tubes stuck in his face, arms, and neck. His steady heartbeat sounded throughout the room. Dean sat in the chair beside him, telling his unconscious body it’ll all be okay and they’ll get out of there. He was more or less telling himself that rather than Sam. He wasn’t gong to tell the doctors he passed out due to almost closing the gates of hell so he had to tell him he just passed out and that was it. And, of course, they didn’t know what was wrong with him. It was terrifying but predictable.

Dean was deep in thought when he heard a quick knock at the door. He turned to see a familiar figure with dark, messy hair and a trench coat standing in the doorway. He was in shock before he remembered how Cas was the last time something this traumatic happened to him.

“Do you remember me?” he asked softly, afraid of the answer.

Cas looked at Dean, then at Sam, then back at Dean. He nodded. “Yes… I remember you. Of course I remember you.”

Relief flooded over Dean as he stood up and walked over to Cas. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders as he laughed quietly. “You better hug back this time you bastard,” he joked. Slowly, he felt arms wrap around his midsection and one hand patted his back softly. Dean pulled back and wiped at a tear that fell, feeling silly.

“How… why are you here?” he asked hoping it sounded more like he was talking about the hospital rather than with him.

Cas hesitated for a moment before he replied. “Because I need you, too.”

Dean tensed up. A smile flashed across his lips. “Wow…” he breathed.

“And, besides,” Cas continued. “I’m no longer an… angel. If I can’t heal Sam, I can still be here for him. And we need each other so it only makes sense for me to… stay.”

Realization played across Dean’s face. “Stay as in… become a hunter?” Dean asked. Cas nodded. Dean sighed as he sat back down. Cas took a chair across from him. “You mean, permanently, right?”

Cas stiffened. “I can’t run anymore, Dean. I’m here to stay.”

Dean was concerned for a moment before an amusing thought came to his mind. A small smirk teased his lips as he looked up at Cas. “Well, you know, if you want to stay with us, you need to get inked up.” He breathed out a laugh as Cas cocked his head.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Cas stated.

“A tattoo. You need to get an anti-possession tattoo since you’re uh… human now,” Dean explained.

“I understand,” Cas replied.

“If you want, you can get it to match mine and Sam’s,” Dean suggested before he quickly pulled down his collar to reveal the top of the tattoo on his chest. “Or you can get it somewhere else.”

Cas nodded before he looked Dean in the eyes. “Between my shoulder blades,” he stated firmly. Dean nodded, understanding.

“Well, we’re gonna have to make it special if you’re getting it there,” he said as he reached over to the small table to grab Sam’s laptop. Cas looked confused again. Dean just smiled at him.

After he booted it up he searched for images on the internet. He was on page 8 or 9 of anti-possession tattoo images before he found one with a pair of black, outstretched wings coming from the symbol. He smiled.

“Hey, buddy,” he said, addressing Cas. He peeled his eyes away from Sam as Dean turned the laptop around. He saw the image on the computer and smiled. A real, genuine smile that made Dean’s heart flutter a bit. Cas had a nice smile; one Dean could get used to.

“It’s perfect. Thank you,” Cas finally said. “When should I get it?”

Dean shrugged. “Today, if you want.” Before Cas could reply, Dean was already searching for tattoo shops nearby. He called the closest one up to see if he needed to bring any documentation. Cas needed an ID. Shit.

“Looks like we’re gonna need to work some magic at a print shop first,” he told Cas. Before he got up to leave, he realized something. He was going to have to leave Sam. Cas noticed the stress in his eyes.

“If it helps at all, I may not be an angel anymore, but I can still sense a good soul. The people here are good. Sam will be safe.”

“Yeah, I know they’re good. Still doesn’t make it okay.”

Cas stood up and put his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “He’ll be fine,” he offered. His thumb quickly stroked across Dean’s cheek twice before he pulled his hand away. Dean nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He stood up and ran his fingers through the top of Sam’s hair before he told him they’ll be leaving for a few hours and he’ll be fine. Cas knew Sam couldn’t hear him and it hurt to watch. Dean gathered his jacket and quickly left the room. Cas followed close behind.

 

* * *

 

 

The stop at the printing shop took shorter than expected. Dean already had a picture of Cas from the FBI badge, he just needed something less conspicuous. He went with a driver’s license. He was also able to print out the picture of the desired tattoo. He hopped back in the driver’s seat with the documentation and silently drove to the tattoo parlor.

When he pulled into a spot he looked over at Cas. “You ready?” he asked. Cas nodded. “Alright, let’s do this.”

When they got out of the Impala, Dean had a realization. _Who’d wear a suit and a trench coat to get a tattoo?_  He wanted to seem as normal as possible considering what kind of tattoo he was getting. “Um, Cas?” he asked.

“Yes, Dean?”

Dean opened up the trunk and pulled out a duffle bag. He produced a pair of dark jeans and a dark gray plaid shirt. He threw them at Cas. “Put these on. I don’t want you to have to awkwardly peel of five layers to get this damn thing.”

Cas nodded and climbed into the back to change. When he got out, Dean couldn’t help but stare. He’d only seen Cas, or his vessel for that matter, in other clothes twice and he realized that this is going to be a normal thing. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to it.  
            The main room of the store was decorated with odd knick-knacks and disturbing posters. The front desk doubled as a display case for various piercings. A tall, large man with a thick beard and multiple ear piercings and arm tattoos came out from behind a curtain.

“Hey, there,” the man said in a friendly voice that didn’t match his appearance. “I’m Bob, how can I help you?” he asked with a smile.

Dean smiled back. “Well, Bob, my friend here would like a tattoo of uh, this,” he said awkwardly as he produced the picture of the symbol.

“That’s awesome,” Bob said, obviously impressed. “Anti-possession,” he smiled at the surprised pair. “Well, I’ll make a quick stencil of this while YOU can fill out this paperwork. Oh, and I need his ID.”

Cas stiffened as Dean handed him the picture and the ID. He took the paper work and started filling it out. “Dean, he has to make sure it’s authentic,” he stated a bit too loud. Bob looked at them from the corner of his eye. Dean just smiled.

“He gets extremely paranoid about this kind of stuff,” Dean tried to explain. Bob just nodded. He gave Cas a warning glance as Bob went back behind the curtain. “Alright, you need to sign this,” he said to Cas, handing him the paper work and a pen. Cas obeyed and Bob came back out a few minutes later.

“Alright, come back with me,” he said as he took the paper work and handed Dean back the ID.

“Told you it would work,” he murmured to Cas. They followed Bob through the main part of the shop to the back where they entered a room labeled “Tattoo Room.”

“Alright, where do you want it?” Bob asked as he prepared the stencil.

“Between my shoulder blades,” Cas said sternly.

Bob nodded. “Alright, just take off your shirt and lay down on your stomach right there,” he said pointing to the reclined chair in the middle of the room. Cas quickly unbuttoned his shirt and peeled the sleeves off. Dean’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect Cas to have any muscles, but damn. He did.

Bob sat in a chair and rolled over to Cas’ side. He expertly drew the pattern unto his skin. Dean watched, amazed. He had it done to him but he couldn’t see what they were doing. And Sam was across the shop so he didn’t see him either. It was almost soothing to watch his expert strokes and damn it looked kind of beautiful.

“Alright, you can look in the mirror to see if that’s where you want it and you can tell me your thoughts. If it’s good, we can get started,” Bob instructed.

Cas stood up and grabbed a hand-held mirror before walking up to the mirrored wall. He turned and angled the mirror so he could see the pre-tattoo. He smiled at Dean and he smiled back. “It’s good,” Cas declared.

“Alright, awesome. Let me just prepare the needle and color while you relax. You just want it plain black, right?”

“Yeah,” Dean answered for him. Cas went back to lying down and Dean could see his back muscles relax.

“So, what’s the story behind this?” Bob asked, trying to make conversation so it’s not awkward. But in these situations, it’s usually pretty awkward anyway.

Cas didn’t answer so Dean had to. “It’s um… kind of a friend and family tradition. We’re all into … this kind of stuff,” he said as casually as he could.

“Oh, that’s pretty cool. So, you have one, I’m guessing,” Bob stated, pointing an instrument at Dean.

“Yeah,” Dean answered as he pulled his collar down to show him. Bob’s smile was smug and amused. Dean gave him a slightly confused look but no other words were said. Just like Dean expected. Awkward.

Bob was finally ready to start working on Cas, but before he started he looked up to Dean. “Do you want to sit? It might make him more relaxed if he can see you. Trust me, I know.”

Dean smiled at him. “Sure.”

He pulled up another wheeled chair and brought it to the end of the chair where Cas’ head laid. “You ready?” he whispered. Cas nodded.

“Alright, hold still,” Bob said calmly.

Dean saw the way Cas’ eyes squinted as soon as the needle made contact with his skin. His hand immediately wanted to sooth him. He reached up and rubbed his fingers across Cas’ arm and wrist. Cas whined quietly.

“Shhh, you’re fine,” Dean soothed. Bob smirked again. Dean cleared his throat at him but got no reply. The dude was in the zone.

A few minutes passed and there were some pain-filled tears swelling up in Cas’ eyes. Dean wiped at them. “It’s alright, he’s almost done,” Dean whispered to him.

He then took the liberty to look up and see that Bob was indeed not almost done. Whoops.

“Dean, this is a lot more painful than I imagined,” Cas announced. Bob laughed a little at that. Dean shot him a look.

“It’s alright. I hear that a lot with first timers and back tattoos tend to hurt a lot. Well, most do anyway.”

“Thanks,” Dean said sarcastically.

“Hey, I’m just telling the truth. At least I didn’t say it would hurt. I just kept my mouth shut. Now tell him to put his big-boy pants on. I’m about halfway done.”

And with that, Bob returned to his “zone” and continued working carefully.

Cas whimpered when he got to an extremely sensitive spot and put his head down. Dean put his forehead to the top of Cas’ head. “Shhh…” he soothed. He closed his eyes and stayed like that for a bit before he heard Bob cough.

“So, uh… how long have you two been together?” Bob has seen and dealt with a lot of people and he knew what he was dealing with here.

Dean’s eyes shot open and he quickly pulled his head up. His mouth hung open. “Wha-”

“Five years,” Cas replied matter-of-factly. The tattoo artist just smiled at them.

“That’s really nice,” he said as he continued on Cas’ back.

Cas put his head back down as Dean blushed a deep red.

“Right,” Dean said quietly. “Five years.”

 

Five more minutes passed in silence. Bob made his finishing touches on the artwork and wiped down the excess ink. “Alright, you’re all done. Why don’t you look in the mirror again and see what you think,” he said, starting to clean up.

Cas got up and took the hand-held mirror again. He lined them up to see the neat symbol with the black, extended wings.

“That looks really awesome,” Dean said with a smile.

“Thanks, I want to know what he thinks, too,” Bob teased. Cas smiled at him.

“It’s great. Thank you,” he said.

“No problem.”

Dean handed Cas his shirt and they followed Bob back out to the front desk. Dean paid the man and said thank you again. He then walked Cas out back to the Impala, but not before saying, “Let’s go, Honey,” for Bob’s amusement.

 

* * *

 

 

When they walked back into the hospital they were immediately greeted by a doctor.

“You’re Dean Winchester, correct?” the woman asked.

“Yes, I am,” Dean said with a questioning tone to his voice.

“Great. Your brother is awake.”

 

Dean rushed to Sam’s room to see him propped up and eyes barely open. “Sammy!” he called. He ran over and gently hugged his brother.

“Hey, Dean,” Sam chuckled. “Where were you?” he asked, eyes getting wide when he saw Cas. “Oh, hey, you found us!” he said, surprisingly cheerful. Dean thought he would be upset with Cas. The drugs must’ve blocked his judgment.

“Yeah, we don’t know what happened,” the doctor said as she stood in the doorway. “He just woke up. Of course, he was a bit confused and wondering where his brother was but he should be fine now.”

“Great, thank you,” Dean said. She smiled and walked down the hall.

Dean shut the door. “Cas, wanna show him what you did?” he asked. Sam looked at the two of them confused.

“What? What he do?” Sam asked urgently. Cas started unbuttoning his shirt and it was then Sam realized he wasn’t wearing his usually get-up. He knew now that Cas was human and it made sense so he didn’t say anything. He was also rendered speechless when he saw Cas’ back. He smiled at them before he realized what it meant exactly. “Wait is he… staying with us?” he asked.

“Yup,” Dean said right when Cas answered “yes.”

“Huh,” Sam breathed. “Well, that looks really cool, Cas. I’m glad you like it.”

“He loves it and I have a funny story to tell you about our experience,” Dean mentioned.

Sam smiled at Cas, but Cas looked very confused. “Okay, what is it?” he asked.

Dean smiled softly. “I’ll tell you later,” he promised.

 

“Huh, okay,” Sam replied.

 

* * *

 

 

            That night Sam was allowed to go home. They all drove back to the Batcave with Cas in the front seat this time. To Dean’s surprise, Sam was okay with that.

            Cas was in the shower when Sam approached Dean. “So, what’s this funny story?”

            Dean looked at him and sighed. “Well, it’s a back tattoo, so it probably hurt a lot, right?”

            “Right…”

            “Well, Cas was obviously a little uncomfortable. He looked like he was in pain so I just tried to sooth him a bit by rubbing his arm and what not.” Sam looked extremely amused by this.

            “Go on…” he said trying not to smile so big.

            “Well, this guy was quite amused by that and decided to ask how long we’ve been together.” This time Sam couldn’t help himself and just burst out laughing.

            “Holy shit, that’s great!” he said, still laughing.

            “Wait, it gets better,” Dean said, starting to giggle himself. “To that, Cas replies, ‘five years’.”

            Now Sam was bent over and almost in tears and Dean was not too far behind. They continued laughing until they felt a third presence in the room. They both turned to see Cas staring at them in the doorway.

            “I’m confused, why is that so funny?”

            Dean walked over to him. “Because he meant like a romantic relationship, not friends or how long we’ve known each other,” he explained.

            Cas looked slightly hurt but decided to go along with it. “Oh,” was all he said. Dean looked worried. He grabbed Cas by the arm and took him to the next room. Sam was still laughing.

            Dean waited until they were out of earshot before he spoke. “Wait, did you actually think that we were,” he swung his finger between him and Cas repeatedly, unable to finish his sentence.

            “I understood what he meant, Dean,” Cas said trying to sound strong. “I’ve been around way longer than you can imagine and I know exactly what he meant.”

            Dean was just completely surprised and dumbfounded. He nodded his head once not knowing what else to do. Cas stared, waiting for a reply.

            Dean quickly became deep in thought. He said to himself before that he’d try anything once, and he meant _anything._ He enjoyed being around men but he never, ever thought he would _actually_ end up with one. Especially an ex-angel. He shrugged.

            “Fuck it,” he said. And with that he grabbed Cas’ face and kissed him lightly. Before Cas could really enjoy it, Dean pulled away. Cas decided it wasn’t enough and grabbed his shoulders and shoved him against the wall. _Sam will hear that_ Dean thought but all thoughts were quickly erased when Cas kissed him with a power and thirst that made Dean’s head spin. Cas’ fingers were all over Dean’s hair, neck and chest. Dean settled with just bringing his hands to Cas’ lower hips. Their bodies rubbed together and the sounds their mouths were making drove Dean crazy, but before any clothes were lost, Cas pulled away.

            Dean’s face was surprised while Cas’ eyes were sharp. “Uh…” was all Dean could manage. He smiled shyly. “I guess we’re together?” he tried lamely. Cas kissed him again quickly.

 

            “We have been for five years, Dean.”

 

* * *

 

  
            Dean walked out to Sam and explained what happened. At first he laughed, but then he said he understood and wasn’t that surprised. Dean nodded and all three got ready for bed.

            Cas slept in Dean’s bed with him that night. In the morning, he woke up with a sleepy, shirtless Dean on top of him. They were both just wearing boxers, both of them Dean’s. They would have to go shopping for Cas soon or maybe that day, who knows? All Cas knew was that he was glad he was human and living with the boys in an actual home. He was glad Sam was safe and they were all going to be okay. He was especially glad he had a tired Dean clinging to his back and kissing his neck lazily.

           

            He was totally content and ready to stay like this for the rest of his days.

**Author's Note:**

> So... about Sam waking up at the end, I was thinking it could be some guardian or some heavenly being that still has healing powers. It's really up in the air and left to your own imagination. I just didn't want him unconscious the whole time because that's awkward.
> 
> my tumblr: carryon-deducing-inthetardis.tumblr.com


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